Capcom has recently released a playable Flash demo of the introductory case of Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, the fourth and latest in their cult hit Ace Attorney series. Additionally, they included the code so that it may be posted elsewhere.

Apollo Justice is the first Ace Attorney game to be completely designed for the DS, as opposed to the previous three titles, which were all remakes of Game Boy Advance games (which had previously debuted exclusively in Japan). Also, it’s the first game not to star Phoenix Wright, the iconic defense lawyer of the previous entries, although he remains an important character and the defendant of this demo case.

Since Apollo‘s Japanese release last year, it’s garnered much praise for its full utilization of the DS, where the entire game generally has more situations like those contained in the bonus DS-exclusive case in the original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, which let players inspect every piece of evidence as a fully three-dimensional object, blow into the DS’ microphone to locate fingerprints, et al.

On the other hand, it’s also taken flak from longtime series diehards who don’t find Apollo and his new friends as likable as Phoenix and co. and also argue they don’t receive enough screen time, as they’re always at odds with Phoenix’s ever-looming presence. Rumor has it that this is the result of a triumph by Capcom’s executives over the developers, who felt that Phoenix’s story was very much concluded at the end of Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations.

Apollo Justice will be shipped to North America on Tuesday, February 19, 2008.